One needs to take that first step and venture into the often turbulent waters of business, so any form of support is welcome, said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, at the panel on support programs for future women entrepreneurs as part of the event “Empower Her: Women Entrepreneurs of Serbia” organized by Haos Community Space Artklasa and Silosi Belgrade.

Young women are more and more often deciding to start a business, but like women in science, they still face the problem of irreconcilability of family and professional life.

Further improving the institutional framework for female entrepreneurship is important to empower women entrepreneurs. Any initiative, legislative or otherwise, in the direction of empowering women entrepreneurs, as well as a better understanding of equality is welcome. But it is equally important that we encourage primary schools to promote women in ICT and STEM fields because girls still face patriarchal norms and restrictions, which affect their choice of education and profession, said Janković.

The Commissioner reminded that research shows that Serbia is in third place in Europe in terms of the participation of female students in the ICT sector with 29%, while the average of female students in these fields at the EU level is 17%. The data from the Science and Technology Park in Belgrade shows that 48% of women are in their educational program for students, which is also relevant.

These are all encouraging data, and it is up to the Government and all of us to create more favorable conditions in society, support programs and ensure gender equality. However, when we talk about empowering women, we must not exclude men and boys because only together can we build a better future for all of us, said the Commissioner.